Original subtitles

[narrator] Tonight on The Curse of Oak Island...

[Joan Dawson] Welcome to Fort Point Museum.

We brought a few artifacts.

[Alex] Do you think that the Knights of Malta

-would've used beads like that? -Yes. They may well have

visited Oak Island.

[Terry] This is the kind of loose slurry

of mud that we were looking for.

That speaks to a chamber. Or the offset chamber.

[Charles] That's where treasure can hide.

We're all extremely interested in the Lot 8 feature.

[Alex] We need to see what's under that rock.

-[Peter] Wait, do you see that? -Oh, my god, there's a pearl.

[narrator] There is an island in the North Atlantic

where people have been looking for

an incredible treasure for more than 200 years.

So far, they have found a stone slab

with strange symbols carved into it,

man-made workings that date to medieval times,

and a lead cross whose origin may be connected

to the Knights Templar.

To date, six men have died

trying to solve the mystery.

And according to legend, one more will have to die

before the treasure can be found.

♪ ♪

-[Rick] Morning, guys. -[overlapping greetings]

-Hey. -How are you?

[narrator] As Rick Lagina and members of the team

begin a new day of investigation

on Oak Island, they have gathered

in the war room regarding a recent and potentially

game-changing discovery.

I think it's an understatement

to say that we're all extremely interested

in what the Lot 8 feature might represent.

Right now,

none of us can say definitively what this is,

and thus, my thought is that it absolutely

was built by the hand of man.

There is a huge human interface factor here.

It's unquestionable.

Definitely been altered by humans, and not by

any humans that we're aware of.

I agree.

So, this is what I wanted to show you.

[narrator] Two weeks ago, Laird Niven noticed

a massive boulder on Lot 8 near several partially buried rocks

that looked like someone may have set them in place.

As the team dug,

they uncovered more buried rocks in front of the boulder.

[Rick] I find that strange.

[narrator] But then Rick noticed

it was being held in place

by a series of evenly spaced stones.

-[Fiona] Whoa, you're going deep. -[Isabelle] Yeah.

[Fiona] You got a big void down there.

[narrator] Fiona Steele then began to remove disturbed soil,

exposing a tight but open void beneath it.

[Peter] There's definitely a void that I'm following.

[narrator] The team inserted a snake camera under the boulder,

but were unable to tell if something was hidden below.

We've tried the camera.

-Laird now has the footage. -All right.

[Gary] Let's watch for some shiny gold things.

[Laird] Here we go.

-That's a nice shot. -[Fiona] Yeah, that's...

a lot of different materials under there.

What is that linear thing? Right above the rock.

[Laird] This?

-[Alex] That, right there. -[Fiona] Yeah, that.

[Alex] Yeah.

-[Laird] It's right up against the rock. -[Alex] Yeah.

-Just at the top of the screen. -[Laird] Yeah.

[Alex] On the side, there. Right there.

[Laird] Yeah, yeah. Huh.

[Rick] Can you stop it there?

Whoa.

It's linear, that's for sure.

[Laird] Yeah.

-Does that not look like an iron spike? -Yeah.

[Gary] Yeah, it could be an iron fastener of some kind.

[Laird] Yeah.

[Alex] It's blue.

But they can oxidize blue sometimes, can't they?

-Mm-hmm. -Yeah, they can.

[Alex] And that's consistent with being

low oxygen under a boulder.

Is there enough oxygen

in there for wood to decay? You know,

I'm thinking, what if there was a wood structure

under there and the spike is all that remains?

I mean, Nova Scotia soils are very acidic.

It's just not great for preserving wood.

Right. So, it could be that the wood is gone and that's

-all that's left. -[Laird] Yeah.

[Alex] That's how that spike could get there.

-It's one way. -Could be.

[narrator] If the team is actually seeing

an iron spike beneath the massive boulder,

could Alex be correct

that it was once a part of a wooden structure?

If so, what kind of structure was it,

and what else might be down there?

What are the chances that we lift this boulder and move it?

I think it's worth doing if we can.

The question is if we can.

-[Laird] Yeah. -[Fiona] Oh.

I'm on the fence with that one.

I'm-I'm just worried because if this is a really

special, special place,

or if it ends, if it ends up being a really special find,

we just have to watch the integrity of it all.

What kind of special site

would we be talking about, potentially?

-Well... -[chuckling]

We are searching for treasure

on an island famous for treasure.

How about some treasure under there?

I agree. I agree.

[Laird] The Lot 8 boulder feature

is one of the most perplexing

archaeological sites I've worked on.

We have to take our time. We have to do things correctly

before we can get down there

and see exactly what's under it.

This boulder is so unusual that

I have no expectations about what's under there.

I am prepared for nothing,

and I am prepared for something spectacular.

My takeaway here is we need to see what's under that rock

one way or another.

I'd be a proponent of lifting it if we can

think of a way to do it. We didn't come out here

to find the most interesting site on the island

and then not investigate it.

And so, if we can't think

of a way to get the material out from under it

that gives us all the information of raising it,

then I think we need to raise it.

But I'm totally fine, and I completely

understand wanting to try every alternative first

because you don't want to destroy something

-that's potentially very significant. -[Laird] Exactly.

-Correct. -[Fiona] I think we can get underneath it

without lifting this boulder.

I mean, I've been working down low.

I can see where the rocks are. I can see where

the soil is settled in front.

I know we have to be safe about it though.

I was going to say, you're not going under the boulder.

-[laughs] -[Rick] Right now, is there

a part of me that says, "Come on, let's just go lift it.

Let's all grab shovels and dig it up." A hundred percent.

Of course we want answers. Of course we want to find

something under probably

one of the most singularly unique

finds on the island to date. Right?

But we don't want a "Oh, if only we hadn't done that" moment.

-At least not yet. -Right.

-We have to do it safely. -A hundred percent.

[Marty] I think I understand where my brother's coming from.

I look at it, and I say this rock is very important,

we need to see what's under it.

And I don't want to wait to do that,

I want to lift this rock tomorrow.

Rick looks at it and says this rock

is very important, same conclusion,

but it's so important I want to be careful about moving it.

It's just a difference of approach,

but it stems from the same realization:

This is an important feature.

I'd say, likely, there's something

interesting under that rock,

perhaps even treasure.

So, we can move forward

to try to further our understanding

what this discovery represents.

-Perfect. -[Fiona] We've got a good plan.

I think we're on the right track.

-Yeah. -[Rick] Okay, so to that end,

I think we've all got work to do,

so let's go try to find

something else mysterious about this place. Okay.

-All right. -[Rick] Let's go.

[Alex] See you, Craig. See you, Jack.

-[Craig] See you, guys. -[narrator] While the meeting

concludes in the war room...

[Terry] CN-12.5, Charles.

Here we are trying to put another hole in the Peacock,

-trying to nail this down. -Oh, I like the location.

[narrator] ...in the Money Pit area...

[Terry] There's a big opening down there and we're gonna see

-if we can find it. -[Charles] Yeah.

[narrator] ...the team is drilling borehole CN-12.5

in the Peacock, eight feet northwest

of borehole BN-13.5.

[Adam M.] Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[narrator] It was there three weeks ago

that while targeting the solution channel

some 170 feet deep, the drill

entered a ten-foot void at just 148 feet.

[Terry] We've got an opening.

[narrator] One that yielded sonar images

of a possible opening to a much larger chamber,

and underwater camera images

of potential metallic objects.

I've always believed in the offset chamber

because it makes sense engineering-wise.

Right.

[narrator] This has made the team speculate

that they may have hit an offset treasure chamber

connected by a tunnel to the original Money Pit.

Now, they hope to find out for sure

in borehole CN-12.5.

I mean, the core of the Peacock is a slushy

slurry of mud and water.

You get that as you get further down into the solution channel.

That's a lot of open, loose material.

You know what it tells me, Terry?

That's where a coin or a jewel or something can hide.

Sounds good to me. Hopefully, we come up

with a few pieces of it today.

[Charles] Wouldn't that be sweet?

[narrator] As drilling continues

in the Money Pit area...

...and while the investigation

beneath the boulder proceeds on Lot 8...

-[Gary] Another bucket of opportunities. -[Rick] Yep.

[narrator] ...Rick, Craig and other members of the team

dig on Tom Nolan's property

in the northernmost region of the swamp.

[Gary] All right, let's get stuck in.

[narrator] They are continuing to search for more sections

of a cobblestone pathway

that might be connected

to other stone features recently uncovered

on the western side of the swamp,

as well as an empty brick and slate vault

that was found nearby in 2024.

-There's... -Oh, yeah.

...this right there.

[Gary] Oh, wow.

This has got a nice pattern on it. Both sides.

See that pattern, mate?

Yeah.

[Gary] What I like about this is

this piece has come out of the darker layer,

meaning it's from a deeper depth.

So, it has the potential to be older.

Well, I'll put this in a separate bag

'cause this is a nicer piece.

Okey doke.

Oh.

Check this out.

-Woo-hoo! -Now, that's pottery.

[Gary] That's pottery. Yeah. Good eye, mate.

-That's a piece of earthenware. -[Rick] Yep.

[Gary] Good eye, Rick.

[ceramic clattering]

Oh, wow. Look at this, Gary.

-Gary, look at this. -What? What is it?

Oh, yeah, a lot of pottery in that one.

[engine turns off]

[Rick] All this. All that. All this.

[Gary] Yeah, there's a lot

-of pottery here, mate. -There's a lot of pottery.

[Rick] Look at this, it's everywhere.

Yeah, this is the, uh,

mother lode when it comes to pottery shards.

We have found bags and bags of pottery in this dig.

If we can get a date on it, you've got a chance

to track down who was working in the area.

[Craig] Hey, Gary and Rick.

Finding a lot of pottery.

So are we.

It almost looks like three different types.

We're probably dealing with the same situation here.

That last bucket, a heck of a lot of pottery in it.

-Okay. -[Gary] We're in a good area.

We should get Laird down here.

[Rick] Okey doke.

-[Laird] That's a big pile of dirt. -A heck of a lot

-of pottery. -Really?

Unbelievable amount of pottery. We'll show you.

[narrator] In the northern region of the swamp...

[Rick] Hey, Craig. Tom.

Can you come over?

-Yep. -Okay.

[narrator] ...Laird joins the team to examine

their large collection of new discoveries.

That's a lot of, a lot of ceramics.

[Gary] Yep, but you are the pottery expert, mate.

We figured you would be able

to tell us if we've got any older pieces

-in these bags. -Yeah.

These are transfer printed, uh,

pearlware, refined earthenware.

-1840s kind of... -Yeah.

...era.

[Gary] And we did get some nice pieces

of earthenware there in the second bag.

[Laird] In there? Oh, coarse earthenware,

-the red one. Redware. -Yeah. Mm-hmm.

[Laird] The redwares are what we're really interested in.

[Gary] Eh, this is unusual. It's got a glaze

-on one side and... -Yeah.

...nothing on the other.

-More cruder. -[Laird] Yeah.

[Gary] Doesn't that normally mean an older piece

when it's cruder?

[Laird] Yes. I mean, this could be

North Devon gravel ware,

which is old. And the gravel's

referring to a lot of grit in there,

which could be a good marker.

-How old is that? -Oh, 1600s to 1700s.

[Gary] Wow.

[Rick] Amazing, the littlest pieces

always are the most intriguing.

-[Laird] Right? -1600s? I love those dates

because that makes me think

about Isaac de Razilly

and the Knights of Malta.

So that connection, I'd love to make stronger.

That'd be pretty significant.

[narrator] After finding several buttons,

a folded coin

and Venetian trade beads on Lot 5

that may be connected

to the 17th-century Templar-related order

known as the Knights of Malta...

Rick, Marty and the team have been researching

Isaac de Razilly,

a prominent member of the order who, in 1632,

built a stronghold in LaHave

just 15 miles south of Oak Island,

which is now known as Fort Point.

What I found very interesting is two documents.

[narrator] And, just one week ago,

Emiliano Sacchetti provided the team

with a 17th-century inventory of de Razilly's

personal property that went missing after his death

in 1636.

[Emiliano] We have a copper astrolabe,

we have two flintlock muskets

and two leather-covered chests.

That's the piece with the best hope of being old.

[narrator] Could Gary be correct,

that the team has possibly found important clues

that may help identify

who was connected to the Oak Island mystery?

You know, the thing for me is,

we always talk about how

we need to have corroborative evidence.

-Yeah. -You know, or complimentary

evidence, if you will.

If we can reach out to

Fort Point, which is where Isaac de Razilly was.

Whatever we think we can get complimentary evidence to,

-we should bring. -Yeah.

[Rick] Can we use the artifacts

we have found to possibly connect

de Razilly to... to some efforts here?

I can take all that stuff back,

-if you'd like and... -Okay. Yeah. Please.

...start the cleaning process.

[Rick] Or the fact that he may have known of some efforts here

prior to coming to Nova Scotia?

-I'll take these. -[Rick] I think we need

to redouble our efforts

looking into that possibility further.

Okey doke. And we will continue the work here.

-[Laird] Okay. -[Craig] Sounds good.

-[Tom] Thanks, Laird. -[Gary] Let 'er rip, Al.

[beeping]

[metal detector beeping]

I got a signal, Rick.

[detector whines]

And it's right there.

[pinpointer beeping]

More of a larger signal. Here we go.

What have we got here?

I haven't the foggiest what that is.

-No. -That's what I love about

our little trips to the lab, mate.

Let's see if we can get any crud off it.

That-That's something.

This has got a curve to it.

It's iron and really heavy,

and it has got an old feel about it to me.

'Cause it's something well-constructed.

[Rick] Yep, I think it's some sort of

lifting-lifting device, and I think

there was a ring here, and this is...

this is right where your attachment point is.

We're both on the same page, mate.

We both think this has something to do with lifting

or hauling. It could be a shackle

or it could be a hook.

We did find that mystery vault

-a few yards that way, mate. -Mm-hmm.

You never know, this could've been used

for lifting and placing something

-in another vault... -Right here.

-...not too far away from us. -Yep.

We know that path we discovered

is leading this way towards the vault.

If it is any sort of lifting device,

it means that something

-heavy was lifted in this area. -Yeah.

[Rick] We have pottery that might suggest

dates as early as the 1600s.

And now we have this tool.

It could have been used for lifting something heavy.

Well, this area is interesting,

uh... for all kinds of reasons.

There is some story being written here.

But I would love to see other artifacts found,

perhaps even another vault.

The hope is that it resides here.

But we'll find answers about this back at the lab.

-Yep. Yep. -I'll put it in the bag.

[Gary] Okay. Game on.

[narrator] As the investigation in the swamp continues...

[Terry] You guys need a hand?

Hold on.

Whoa.

[narrator] ...in the Money Pit area,

borehole CN-12.5 has reached a depth

of nearly 140 feet in the Peacock.

[Terry] Great stuff.

This material right from here to there

is, uh, 138 to 168.

30 feet of drilling. We only got

-about 12 feet of core back. -Yeah.

But that, we've seen in the past

in the Peacock. You drill it 20 feet,

maybe you get five, maybe you get six feet of-of core.

Very interesting. Very interesting stuff.

Let's have a look.

This is the kind of loose slurry of mud

-that we were looking for. -Yeah.

[Terry] This is the cakey material

that stayed in the core barrel.

We got a whole 15 feet that didn't even come up

because it's a washed-out, slushy slurry down below.

[Charles] That's where treasure can hide.

[Terry] That's exactly right. So, Charles,

for 30 feet of drilling, we've got 12 feet

of recovery. That speaks to an opening somewhere in that area.

Perhaps a chamber. Or the offset chamber.

[Charles] It's down there, Terry.

[Terry] So, Charles. That material there,

all the way from about 145 to here,

to about 160, that's an interesting depth...

-Yeah. -...and that speaks to

-an offset chamber. -Yeah.

[narrator] In the Money Pit area,

the drilling operation in borehole CN-12.5

has encountered evidence of a nearly 20-foot void

approximately 145 feet underground.

Let's just carve the rest of this up, Charles,

-so you can go over it, maybe... -I'm gonna go over it with

-the pinpointer. -Yeah, let me...

-You carve it up first. -Let me open it up for you

-a little bit. -Yep.

[narrator] Is it possible that the team has discovered

a larger cavern that could be connected

to the potentially man-made void they encountered

three weeks ago?

If so, just what might it contain?

[Terry] See, this is getting really blocky down below.

You get that as you get further down in the solution channel.

And I think this is the kind of information

that we're looking for that says

there is a connection between the Peacock

-and the solution channel. -Yeah.

[Terry] Now we just have to follow that void

to the bottom of the solution channel and hope we encounter

the artifact or the treasure

that's gonna change everything.

It's clear, Terry,

-no metal in this one. -Right on. All right.

-We'll write it up and move on. -It's clear.

[Terry] So that's the 168.

Let's see what they give us from 168 down.

It's down there, Charles.

[Charles] It's down there, Terry.

-We just haven't found it yet. -Yeah.

[narrator] The following day,

as work continues on Oak Island...

[Alex] Well, guys, I'm excited

to go see Fort Point today because

we have a lot of questions

about Isaac de Razilly and if he did

go to Oak Island at any point.

[narrator] ...Alex, Peter,

Judi Rudebusch and Emiliano Sacchetti

are traveling some 15 miles south

to LaHave, Nova Scotia.

[Alex] I think Joan is the perfect person

to answer some of those questions for us.

I-I'm hoping that she can give us some

-really good input. -Yep.

[narrator] They have arranged to visit

the historic site known as Fort Point,

which was originally established

as a French stronghold in 1632

by Isaac de Razilly,

a high-ranking member of the Knights of Malta.

[Alex] Wow. Beautiful location.

-You can see why they chose it. -[Emiliano] Yeah.

-[Emiliano] Hello. -[Joan] Welcome to Fort Point Museum.

-[Emiliano] Thank you. -[Joan] Nice to see you.

-Hi there. My name is Alex. -Hello.

-Very nice to meet you. Joan, right? -Joan, yes.

[narrator] Joan Dawson is a local historian

and author who has written several books on both

the founding of Nova Scotia and Isaac de Razilly.

[Peter] We brought a few artifacts.

Would there be a place to look at these at all?

-Um, yeah, well, there's a table in there. -Okay.

-If you'd like to set them up there. -[Alex] Sure.

-That'd be great. -Yeah. -[Joan] So, we have in this room

some of the early information

about Isaac de Razilly.

So if you'd like to have a look around in this room

and then I'll meet you in the other room

-and we can take it from there. -Thank you so much. -Thank you.

[Alex] Rick always talks about connective tissue

and tying Oak Island

to the potential treasure depositors

that we're investigating.

These are items right from the family.

[Alex] In this case, we have Isaac de Razilly,

who could be

the connective tissue between Oak Island

and the Knights of Malta.

So this would've been the kind of clothes he would've worn

possibly as a member of the Knights of Malta

-in the 1600s, like it says. -Yeah.

Looks like it may have been red because of his stature.

-Oh, 'cause he was higher-ranking? -Mm-hmm.

I'd wish we'd find something similar to that on the island.

-[Alex] Yeah. -A Maltese cross.

So that symbol was in use in the 1600s.

-Mm. -So if we find that symbol on Oak Island,

-then that's a dead giveaway. -Oh, yeah.

Probably a good place to start would be

what is known about Isaac de Razilly

during the time that he was here.

[Joan] Well, we know that he had written a document

before coming here talking about colonization

and how important it was and how it enhanced

the prestige of France and the French king.

The king certainly sanctioned the expedition.

So he came over in 1632.

He organized the community here.

He had a fort built, um, on the site where we are now.

So he was obviously in charge.

Is it fair to say he was a wealthy man?

Well, he was, uh, an aristocrat,

and his family were landowners.

He would have been fairly well-off, yes.

Good lifestyle,

which he obviously intended

-to set up here. -Right.

He was very happy to come here and to set up this place.

But, um, unfortunately, Isaac de Razilly died,

and we don't know quite what caused this,

but it was unexpected and he died in July of 1636.

-Okay. -[Alex] So, Joan, we're trying to figure out

the connections Isaac de Razilly had,

-you know, to the Oak Island mystery... -Mm-hmm.

...and the other orders and powers

that he was associated with, like France,

the-the Knights of Malta.

You know, he was an enthusiastic Knight of Malta, yes.

He wrote a letter to the, um, leader of the Knights of Malta,

um, suggesting that they should really set up something

like a monastery, um, in, um... in Nova Scotia.

Well, perhaps there's a connection to a...

a settlement on Oak Island.

We have, uh, an archaeological site there on Lot 5

that appears to have had about two periods of occupancy.

There's some suggestion that there was an occupation

-in the 1600s. -Mm. That's interesting.

[Peter] So, here's an artifact from

the Lot 5 feature.

I'm just curious if you came across any sort of beads

that are similar to this here on this location.

[Joan] Good heavens. No.

But I would say it was beads for fur trading with the Mi'kmaq.

-[Alex] Mm. -The Indigenous people, yes.

Do you think it's possible

that Isaac de Razilly would've used beads like that

-for the purposes of trading? -Yes.

Um, um, you get that from the French. Certainly, they had

traded with the Indigenous people.

So, yes, I'm sure Razilly was doing it, too.

Well, that's interesting, because we were wondering

if that could be a potential connection between

if not de Razilly, then the...

-the group that he was associated with... -Mm-hmm.

...being involved in some work on Oak Island.

[Emiliano] And I'm sure you are aware of it,

but we know that, uh, from the journal

-that Isaac de Razilly, he used to sail... -Yes.

-...from LaHave... -Yes.

...up towards Mahone Bay.

-But, um... -Well, they certainly went-- they went

on this expedition, um, with two local priests along with them.

-[Emiliano] Exactly. -And they went, um, into Mahone Bay, yes.

[Emiliano] And they also described

an island filled with oaks.

Yes, well, certainly. I mean, they didn't say

which of the islands in Mahone Bay they visited.

But they may well have visited Oak Island.

[Alex] There you go.

[Joan] While he was here, they may well have visited

-Oak Island. -Mm-hmm.

[Joan] So I'm sure there's a connection.

[narrator] At Fort Point, some 15 miles south

of Oak Island in LaHave, Nova Scotia,

historian Joan Dawson has confirmed

that the Venetian beads discovered on Lot 5

are the same type that Isaac de Razilly

and other members of the Knights of Malta

would have used as currency in this area

back in the 17th century.

So, we have all these other European artifacts on this site

on Lot 5, which to me indicates

a potential connection to the Knights of Malta.

[Emiliano] Yes. So,

one of the things that...

...are actually really interesting is this one.

This is a flintlock plate

-coming from a musket... -[Joan] Yes.

...we found in Lot 8.

And as we know, this kind of mechanism was French.

[Joan] Yes, that's right.

[Joan] Yes. Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Yes, that's interesting.

[Judi] Did they go to France?

-Did they stay here? -[Emiliano] Exactly.

And, also, I read

that Isaac de Razilly came here with 300 men,

-and they were an elite corps. -Yes. Mm-hmm.

Yes. So, they were obviously well-trained and-and...

-well-armed. -So, the question is...

[chuckles softly] could this be, um, something...

that Isaac de Razilly, uh, lost?

It could be. It is strange.

There were several things

-that didn't get back to France. -Yes.

Also, some chests went missing.

It's interesting comparing those documents.

Uh, uh, we can call it coincidence.

-Mm-hmm. -But that is another interesting,

um, you know, possibility--

that they eventually ended up in a place like Oak Island.

It's a mystery.

Yes. Indeed.

Well, it's very interesting.

[Emiliano] Yes.

[Alex] What really strikes me about this guy is

how little we know about his time here in Nova Scotia.

We know he came here.

We know he came here with a significant amount of resources

because he was trying to establish a trading post.

Uh, at least that's the official story.

Uh, and then we don't know what he did.

We've established that he had the opportunity

to do something on Oak Island.

We've established that he had the means

to do something on Oak Island.

Now we need to look for his motive.

[Judi] Okay. We brought one more thing along, and it's a book.

-Oh, yes. -And it was the book

that led us to our idea to go to Malta.

[Edwards] I have acquired two ancient books.

The publication date was 1812.

And then the second book has a publication date of 1763.

[narrator] In 2023, researcher John Edwards

presented the team with two books

that he believes are part of a five-volume series.

They contained Masonic codes, passages

of ancient Hebrew writings,

and references to sacred religious treasures

that many believe the Knights Templar

and the Knights of Malta may have hidden on Oak Island.

And, curiously, one of the books in the series

also featured a hand-drawn map of the island...

...along with a possible depiction of the vault

that was uncovered in the swamp.

-Oh, there's a Maltese cross here. -Yes.

And beside that, it even says that.

-Take a look at that. -It says Malta, yes.

[Alex] We don't know much about this book.

I mean, we have the-the Maltese cross,

so-so we're thinking perhaps there's a connection

to a-a settlement

that was founded by a member of the Order of Malta.

[Joan] Oh, it's Josephus. Okay. Mm-hmm.

You're familiar with Josephus and what he wrote about?

Yes. I know he wrote a-a history at the time of Christ.

Oh. Okay.

[narrator] Flavius Josephus was a first century

Jewish military leader and scholar

who documented many historical events of ancient Israel.

He's also credited with being one of the first historians

to author a non-biblical account about Jesus of Nazareth

and his crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.

We believe there's a code in there somewhere.

-Yeah, well, I'm just looking at this margin here... -Mm-hmm.

...which seems to be a code of some sort.

[Alex] Mm-hmm.

I think, Isaac de Razilly, if he had

a library of any sort, this is the kind of thing

that might well have been in it.

Okay.

[narrator] Has Joan possibly helped the team

uncover new clues in the books...

...related to the beliefs and priceless religious treasures

that some believe the Knights Templar

and Knights of Malta buried on Oak Island?

[Alex] The fact that Joan not only recognizes

possible clues in this book and its author

but also that she says it's, uh, the kind of thing

that a Knight of Malta would have in his library,

I think, is very significant, because this book has

drawings and codes and messages that we think

pertain and relate to Oak Island.

So that right there is our connection

between the Knights of Malta and Oak Island.

Well, Joan, thank you very much for your time.

-We really appreciate it. -Well, thank you very much.

It's been really interesting for me.

I did this research a long time ago,

and it's nice to remember it all.

-Lovely to meet you all. -[Alex] You as well.

[Peter] Thank you. Nice to meet you.

[narrator] As a new morning dawns on Oak Island...

So, Ter, 188 to 208.

So you got ten feet of material.

-208. Okay. -Great.

...members of the team hope to make a breakthrough discovery

at the bottom of the Peacock in Borehole CN-12.5.

-More loose stuff, and here's the bedrock at about 204. -Yep.

[narrator] After encountering a nearly 20-foot void

some 140 feet underground

one day ago that may be connected

to a possible offset chamber...

I mean, we got exactly what we were looking for.

All of this material is very, very loose.

Things could have, uh, fallen down through.

...the team is now examining

core samples from the bottom of the solution channel,

an area where any potential treasure might have fallen.

We expected to see slushy, slurry, washed-out areas

that things could fall into.

We're looking at a whole great big bunch of it now, Charles.

[Charles] Can you hand me a cutter, Terry?

Scalpel.

-Let's do it. -Okay. Let's operate.

If you're looking for evidence of a washed-out void

or a muddy spot,

this is it.

So, I'm gonna separate this out

a little bit and you're gonna run the pinpointer

-over it, I think, Charles. -That's what I'm gonna do.

We're looking for metal right now.

And I'm afraid there's no metal in that.

Right. Well, that's disappointing. But, again,

we've been hitting loose watery material all the way from 138

all the way down to, uh... here we are at 204.

We're still in this material here.

[Charles] This is perfect to hide the one thing.

[Terry] Gold will pass down through that

like a hot knife through butter.

I mean, this is tailor-made

for exactly what we're talking about.

This material's getting sampled.

[narrator] Unfortunately, no artifacts

or solid evidence of treasure have been found in the core.

However, the team may still be able to find valuable clues

in the muddy soils.

Let's get a representative sample of this loose material,

see if we can take it back to the lab,

see if they'll detect any precious metals.

And that should do it for that.

[Rick] The Peacock, it's singularly unique,

according to Terry.

It's highly unconsolidated soils.

Uh, seems to be almost floating in space.

Okay, here we go.

[Rick] It checks all the boxes for a offset chamber

that has collapsed down into the solution channel.

And thus every reason to grab samples of that,

send them off to the lab, and hopefully find something.

[Charles] We got to keep coming back to this hot area

'cause it's so tempting. We need more information there, right?

There's lots of places down there for a treasure to hide.

-[Terry] On to the next. -[Charles] Sounds good to me.

[narrator] As Terry and Charles

prepare soil samples for testing...

[Peter] Hey, guys.

-[Laird] Hey. -[Rick] Hey.

-How are you? -Might look a little different now.

[Rick] A little?

You can kind of peek in there.

...Rick and members of the team arrive on Lot 8,

where more soil has been removed

from beneath the massive boulder feature.

-Any finds yet? -[Fiona] No.

We haven't yet. But we are screening

all of the soil that's coming out of here.

When you see the rock pinned like this,

it's looking, at this point, like somebody has excavated out

an area of this to get underneath the boulder.

When's the last time you put the camera down?

Not since we've moved those rocks.

We really only just got to the point

that we've exposed that underbelly of the large boulder.

We have all these stones around that really are tightly placed,

and there's a bit of a pathway clearance

underneath it right now,

so we've had to just scoop out a lot of dirt first.

-But I'd love to see what that camera can show us. -Yep.

Well, we got the camera operator right there.

-Peter, have at it. -Yeah. Let's do it.

[Rick] Archaeology is a slow-paced science.

It's just the nature of the work.

[Gary] Stay focused, Pete.

-[Peter] Okay. -[Rick] Look,

at this point, I want to dig it up.

I want answers.

But I think everyone

that is currently endeavoring to

uncover what this boulder might represent

is recommending that very thing.

Let's do this slow.

Let's do it right.

Let's make certain that we don't make mistakes.

I'll show you. There's a really good spot.

[Peter] All right.

[Fiona] Okay. Now I'm in.

-In underneath. -Okay.

Let's see what we can find.

-[Fiona] See anything there? -[Peter] Nope.

-[Fiona] Okay. Let me see if I can go farther. -All right.

[Rick] What do you see, Peter?

[Peter] There's definitely room.

How deep do you think we're in?

[Fiona] Probably in about a-a couple of feet.

Do you want me to try and go down a little further?

-[Peter] Yeah. -[Rick] Absolutely.

-[Peter] We're-- -[Rick] Stop. Stop. Go ahead but slow. Slowly.

What's that bright blue thing?

I'll go back a little bit.

No. Go forward. Just slow.

Slow. Slow.

Wait. You see that?

Pull forward a little bit.

-Just a touch. -[Rick] Yeah.

[Peter] I wonder what that is.

I have no idea.

-Doesn't look like a rock. -Mm-mm.

But if you go forward into it, feels like a rock?

-Laird, come take a look at this. -I did, but I passed it.

-Am I in the right spot? -[Peter] Mm-hmm.

Here, that's what it is.

-It's... -[Rick] Doesn't look like a rock.

Go towards it a little bit more.

[Laird] Huh.

[Peter] Certainly looks different than everything else.

Yes, it does. That's probably the most interesting thing yet.

-[Peter] You want to pull it back just a little bit? -Sure.

[Rick] Oh, my god. It looks like there's a pearl.

-[Rick] Didn't that look like a pearl? -[Peter] Yeah.

Certainly looks different than everything else.

[Rick] Yes, it does.

Show Fiona that.

[narrator] After reinserting a camera

beneath the massive boulder on Lot 8...

That's a very, very circular piece.

-Like, almost too perfect. -Yeah.

...Rick and members of the team

believe they see new evidence of possible hidden treasure.

-[Rick] It's a pearl. -[Fiona] I see why you're saying that now.

-[Peter] Mm-hmm. -[Rick] I'm not saying it is,

but that's where your mind goes immediately.

-[Fiona] Yeah. -Gary, take a look.

-Of course you don't have scale. -[Gary] Yeah.

[Rick] But you have the big rock.

What are you thinking?

[laughter]

I think pirates and pearls. [chuckles]

-It does look like a pearl, right? -Yeah, it does look

like a pearl, yeah.

[Rick] It's hard to believe that it's a stone.

It's perfect.

It's almost luminescent.

Okay, so now I'm gonna go back in-in again,

-slowly. -[Peter] Mm-hmm.

-[Fiona] I can't quite tell where it's gonna go. -Okay.

-[Rick] S-Stop. -[Fiona] Yeah.

[Peter] Just black.

-[Rick] Yeah. Just black. -[Fiona] Okay.

-It might be covered. -Yeah. Okay.

We couldn't maneuver the camera any closer.

But now we have a potential target

for further investigation.

That makes me more excited.

And I wonder what else might be down there.

There's nothing as of yet that says

that we should cease activities here.

If anything, it says-- speaks eloquently to

-we've got to continue, right? -Yeah.

It's a bloody mystery, that is for sure.

[Rick] What about a shop vac?

[Laird] I was thinking exactly that.

-I think it'd be a great idea. -Yep. Yep.

I think vacuuming that out would be a-a great next step.

-Yeah. -One, you would collect whatever might be there.

And, two, it will open that up further

-so you can get the camera down. -Yeah. I agree.

And metal detecting and hopefully pinpointing.

If I can get my arm in there

-and we can hit some metal, we're in business. -Mm-hmm.

-Yeah. -We shall leave no stone unturned

-that's not supposed to be turned. Yeah. -Except that one.

[chuckling]

[Rick] There is reason here that people

went to some effort to create the Lot 8 feature.

And the only reason I can think of

is that human beings wanted to put something under this stone.

You know, we should apply whatever assets we have

to try to understand what's under that boulder.

I think we are all mystified by it. Certainly.

But the only way to find out is to proceed.

-Yeah. Yeah. -You have a path forward.

Let's see what we can do.

[narrator] As Rick, Marty, and their team

strive to solve a mystery

that has defied generations of faithful searchers,

one important lesson has become crystal clear--

they must look deeper than ever before to find the answers.

Deeper in the Money Pit.

Deeper below features that have gone unnoticed by others.

And deeper into history.

Because what they may ultimately uncover

could have a value that is beyond

earthly calculation.

Next time on The Curse of Oak Island...

[Marty] It's designed to hide something.

I want to pick it up, see what's under there.

[Alex] Well, this could get interesting.

Oh, that's a brick.

[Tom] Somebody was in here doing this.

-It looks like a road toward where the vault is. -Yeah.

-[rapid beeping] -[Charles] We got something in here.

-Look. It's all through it. -This is very, very important.

It may be the thing.

We've processed these deep samples

from the Money Pit area and found something interesting.

We could be closer than we've ever been.

Amen.

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